


Hairspray & High Hopes

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, No Magic AU, delivery man gold, hair stylist belle, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 11:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12298557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: This was intended to be a Legally Blonde Paulette x Kyle AU, but it turned out a bit different. Just a little story about a delivery man and a hair salon owner set over a couple months.





	Hairspray & High Hopes

With all the hustle and bustle of the hair salon, Belle almost didn’t notice the delivery person at the door. It wasn’t the usual one, the tall brunette woman. This was an older man, his short grey hair twinging at the ends, holding a large brown box and looking around.

 _“He could use a haircut,”_ Belle thought to herself as she wiped her hands on her apron and told her client that she’d be back in a moment.

“Hi,” she said, totally taken aback when he looked at her with the prettiest brown eyes she had ever seen. His name tag read “B. Gold.”, which was kind of funny, like it was telling her to be gold.

“Hi, Ms. French, I presume?” he asked, sliding her his book for her to sign off on the shipment of products.

“That’s me,” she said as she wrote out her signature, biting her lip and wishing she had more to say. There was an accent to his voice, definitely European. Maybe Scottish. He was gone almost as quickly as he had appeared, and Belle nearly forgot about him until two weeks later when he was back again.

Belle was sitting in one of the cushy chairs, absently checking her phone when the doorbell twinged. “You’re much slower today,” came a man’s voice, and she startled, jumping at the sound.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Gold set down his package, holding out the receipt for her to sign. Belle shrugged off the chair, meeting him at the receptionists’ desk. “You didn’t scare me. And some days are much slower than others, you’ve just caught us during our normal lunch break.”

“And you’re not eating lunch?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Someone has to pick up the phone if it rings,” she returned. “Or, you know, if a package is delivered. Today was just my turn to stick around.”

“Interesting,” he said, looking around. “I like your calendar. Well, have a good day.”

Belle glanced to the calendar. It featured a scenic photo of Scotland every month, this one an overview of Falkland Palace. Belle had always wanted to travel the world, but the salon was her responsibility, and she couldn’t leave it to travel. He must be Scottish himself, if he bothered to comment on it. And just like that, the handsome man with the alluring accent was gone again.

The next time she saw him, he wasn’t in his delivery uniform, just regular clothes, asking the receptionist Ashley something. “B. Gold,” Belle said as she joined them, and he frowned.

“Beg your pardon?”

“Oh,” she said, “That’s what your nametag says when you’re working. B. Gold.”

“Brandon,” he replied. “The B is for Brandon. Most people just call me Gold.”

“Brandon,” Belle smiled. “That’s a nice name. How can we help you?”

“He was just asking if we had any appointments,” Ashley said. “I think we’re pretty booked up, but maybe Ruby...”

“I can do it,” Belle said. “Men’s haircuts don’t take too long, and my next appointment isn’t for another half hour.”

He smiled at her, a lopsided kind of smile that made her heart skip a beat. It was so stupid, to have a crush on this man she had only met three times. Belle rolled her eyes when she noticed her hand shaking as she put the smock over him. She couldn’t do her damn job if she didn’t have steady hands. Taking a deep breath, she put a hand on her hip and smiled at the mirror they were both facing. “Well, Brandon Gold, what can I do for you?”

“Just… trim the edges, I guess?” he said. “I haven’t cut it since I moved here.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, since a while before I moved,” he amended. “Can you just fix it, please?”

Belle smiled, looking at his hair from different angles. “Certainly.”

The haircut was pretty standard, and they made small talk about his move to Maine, and before that, his move from Scotland as a young boy. Belle learned he was a divorcee, and that his son was in college. In return, she told him about how her mother’s death put her hair salon into her hands, dropping out of college and running it for the past six years. She wanted to spare him the grim details, but he seemed genuinely intrigued. Just like she’d said, it didn’t take long for his unruly hair to be tamed. “There,” she said, removing the smock. “You look very sharp, Mr. Gold.”

“Why, thank you, Ms. French,” he said, standing up and going to pay with Ashley at the front.

Belle watched him walk out, tilting her head and wondering if the fluttery feeling in her tummy was from a crush or the fact she had a questionable yogurt for breakfast. A mix of both, she figured.

It was a whole month before she saw him again, and Belle was beginning to think he may have imagined her perfect man strolling into the salon and sitting at her station. No, he was real, and she had the credit card slip to prove it. It was a prom day, which meant the air was thick with hairspray and every seat was full of an anxious teenage girl trying to get her princess curls or updo _just_ right. Belle had just put in some last-minute highlights in her client’s hair, and was waiting for the timer to go off to be able to wash her hair again.

The door opened with a jingle, and Belle couldn’t help but grin when Brandon Gold walked in, karting in several packages. His hair still looked nice, she noticed, like he had actually attempted to comb it. “I was beginning to think I’d never see you again,” she said, walking to meet him.

He smirked. “You didn’t order anything, and it would have been a bit early to get my hair cut again.”

“Well, touche,” she said, “But it’s good to see you again.”

He agreed, and she signed off for the packages and had Ashley help her carry them to the back.

“God, I have a crush on that man,” Belle said, shaking her head as they made their way back up to the receptionists desk.

“Really?” Ashley asked. “Isn’t he a bit old for you?”

Shrugging, Belle sighed. “Not like he even notices me that way, but I think he’s so handsome and he’s from Scotland and _ugh,_ the things I bet he could do to me… _”_

Someone coughed and Belle looked up. Gold was standing in the doorway, holding his mover for packages. “Forgot this,” he said, before slipping out the door.

Belle’s mouth dropped, turning to smack Ashley on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me he was there?! He’s going to think I’m some kind of weird stalker now.”

Ashley claimed she hadn’t heard him come back in, and Belle stewed all evening, more embarrassed than she’d ever been in her 28 years of life. She went in early to work the next day, hoping to get some cleaning done before all her workers arrived. The door jingled, and she turned, hoping to see Ashley or Ruby. Instead, it was Brandon Gold. “I saw the light on and hoped you would be here,” he said, stepping instead.

Belle nodded, setting aside her broom, crossing her arms across her chest as he walked toward her, a look on his face she couldn’t read. “Look, I’m sorry about whatever you heard yesterday, it was totally inappropriate,” she said, but before she could finish, he was kissing her, one hand on her cheek and another wrapping around her back.

“Oh,” she said when their lips parted. She looked up at him, completely lost for words as he stared back at her.

“I have wanted to do that since the first time I walked in,” he admitted. “Something about you is just so...”

“I feel the exact same way,” she whispered, tip-toeing up to meet her mouth to his again.

After what was not enough time, he took a step back. “I do have to go to work, but I can be here when you close and take you on a proper date.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in ages. She shook her head as she turned back to the broom she had abandoned, wondering how she got so lucky. Was it too soon to be imagining a honeymoon in Scotland?


End file.
